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Coalition Letter: Separate Food Stamps from the Farm Bill

FreedomWorks has signed onto the following coalition letter, led by Heritage Action:

Dear Representative,

In the coming weeks, the House is expected to consider H.R. 1947, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, often referred to as the Farm Bill. However, less than 20 percent of this nearly $1 trillion piece of legislation actually contains agriculture-related programs. The remaining 80 percent is composed of food stamps--formally referred to as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). On behalf of the millions of members and supporters of our organizations, we urge you to support efforts to split the bill and allow lawmakers to consider agriculture policy and food stamps funding in separate pieces of legislation.

In 2000, 17 million individuals received food stamps, but by 2008 that number ballooned to nearly 31 million. Now, nearly 48 million individuals are on the program. Spending on food stamps has doubled since 2008, with taxpayers spending nearly $40 billion on the program in 2008 to an unprecedented $80 billion in 2012. Roughly 1 in 7 Americans are currently on food stamps, reflecting both the expansive growth of government and the troubling dependence of Americans upon it. Out of nearly 80 means-tested welfare programs, food stamps serve as the starkest example of government excess. Nearly everyone agrees that it is time to reform this out-of-control program.

Unfortunately, the politics of the Farm Bill make needed reforms nearly impossible. The urban and rural logrolling deemed necessary to pass this bill has created an unholy bipartisan alliance that has long served to thwart fiscally responsible efforts to restrain spending and limit the growth of government. The “cuts” to food stamps in the House version of the bill are miniscule--amounting to roughly 2.5 percent of the current rate of spending over the next ten years. With our nation approaching $17 trillion in debt, these “cuts” simply do not go far enough.

Separating food stamps and considering them in an alternate piece of legislation is not only sound policy, but also good politics. Through separation, lawmakers will be able to consider both food stamps and farm programs on their own merits without having to compromise their principles.

Furthermore, lawmakers have promised to stop the practice of packaging unpopular pieces of legislation together in order to bring business as usual in Washington, D.C. to an end. Separating food stamps from the Farm Bill would be a clear sign that Members of Congress are making good on their word to the American people. We urge you to support this effort so that much-needed reforms for both food stamps and farm programs can finally take place.

Astroturfing at its finest I must say. We as American voters are not concerned what corporate-backed "grass roots" organizations have to say about how to run the government. We can do that ourselves in the form of voting.

As one of our millions of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your senators and ask that they vote NO on cloture for the Farm Bill conference report, H.R. 2462. This final agreement reached between the House and Senate actually manages to be worse than the bills passed by each chamber separately, and does nothing to contain the hundreds of billions in spending on corporate welfare for farm corporations and an out-of-control food stamp program.

As one of our millions of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your representative and ask that he or she vote NO on the Farm Bill conference report in the House, H.R. 2462. This final agreement reached between the House and Senate actually manages to be worse than the bills passed by each chamber separately, and does nothing to contain the hundreds of billions in spending on corporate welfare for farm corporations and an out-of-control food stamp program.

Capitol Hill Update, 3 December, 2013House & Senate/Schedule: The House is in session this week, and is only scheduled to be in town through the end of next week (the 13th) before adjourning its session for the year. The Senate, meanwhile, is out of town this week, and is theoretically scheduled to remain in session through the end of the month.

This week, I decided to research the Farm Bill to write a little bit about some of the “reforms” House Republicans who support the bill are so proud of. The CBO estimates savings of $35 billion over the next ten years (vs. the current baseline). The CBO is also notorious for underestimating costs, and it looks like this time won’t be any different.

FreedomWorks has signed on to the following coalition letter from the Conservative Action Project.Conservative Leaders to Congress: Reject this Washington Deal "Make no mistake, a vote for a deal like this is a vote to move forward with Obamacare."

September 24, 2013The Honorable David VitterU.S. Senate515 Hart Senate Office BuildingWashington DC 20510Dear Senator Vitter,The undersigned organizations represent millions of Americans, all of whom believe in the principle of equal treatment under the law. That’s why we write in strong support of your legislation, S. 1497, The No Washington Exemption Act, which would restore this critical concept and make Congress subject to the same rules and regulations as millions of other Americans on the exchanges under the new health care law.

This summer has been one of valuable education and clarification for me. In writing my last post on PolyFace Farms, I mentioned that I am spending the summer with friends on their working farm, Dazi Acres.

Two months back, dozens of Democratic congressmen participated in the SNAP Challenge. The PR stunt — sorry, “awareness-raising exercise” — sought to promote the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and demonstrate how difficult is to eat healthy on the average weekly allotment of $31.50.